Delivering Safer Communities

Reducing crime and the fear of crime are high priorities for boroughs and the communities they represent. Boroughs have been successful in developing innovative and effective ways of responding to locally identified criminal and anti-social behaviour through Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs).

The crime statistics published by the Metropolitan Police show that total notifiable offences were 2% lower than for the previous financial year, equating to over 20,000 fewer offences. The detection rate, at 20.3 per cent, is above the target level, but lower than the national average of 23.5%. The emerging trends in crime reported to the Metropolitan Police during the current year are set out below.

This update presents the most recent crime statistics from two different sources: the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime. Both data sets represent the most up-to-date information, but they cover different time periods. The BCS results are from interviews conducted in the period July 2007 to June 2008; police recorded crime refers to the April to June 2008 quarter.

Figure 1 showing percentage change in numbers of recorded crimes, April to June 2008 compared with the same quarter a year earlier:

Is there more crime than last year?

The BCS and police recorded crime differ in their coverage of crime, but both
show that overall crime has fallen in the last year. All BCS crime has fallen by
10% and recorded crime by 9% compared with 2006/07; and most crime types have shown decreases.

BCS Crime Police recorded crime:

↓ All BCS crime down 10% to 10.1 million crimes
↓ Violent crime down 12%
→ Domestic burglary – stable
↓ Vehicle-related theft down 11%
→ Personal theft – stable
↓ Other household theft down 12%
↓ Vandalism down 10%
↓ Risk of being a victim of crime down from 24% to 22%

Police recorded crime:

↓ All police recorded crime down 9% to almost 5.0 million crimes
↓ Violence against the person down 8%
↓ Most serious violence against the person down 12%
↓ Sexual offences down 7%
↓ Robbery down 16%
↓ Domestic burglary down 4%
↓ Offences against vehicles down 14%
↓ Criminal damage down 13%
↑ Drugs offences up 18%

Frontline officers, anti-social behaviour officers, wardens, security and PCSO's play a significant role in tackling crime and in providing increased accountability for the delivery of policing. Delivering effective crime reduction in London will require effective interagency work at a regional as well as a local level. Anyone who works in crime reduction has a unique role in articulating the needs of local communities, working with them to design effective crime reduction strategies and delivering sustainable solutions.

Crime Reduction Training

The London Training and Resource Centre will be holding a one-day introduction into the basic techniques of crime and disorder reduction. The course is relevant to anyone who works in crime reduction. This course will provide information, knowledge, theory and practical skills for people working to reduce crime in their local areas. It will equip you with basic crime reduction training that you can adapt to suit your individual situation. The skills and knowledge covered in this course are valuable for anyone new to crime reduction and a useful reminder to anyone, whatever level of experience they have in crime reduction.

For editors:

For more information please contact asia.bhatti@southwark.gov.uk.

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